Apparatuses of this type are used in practice in order, for example, to align the item stack relative to the transport substrate before the packaging operation and after the loading operation.
Alignment is necessary in order that the item stack is oriented within the footprint of the transport substrate since regions of the item stack projecting beyond the footprint can be damaged during subsequent transport, for example by adjacent pallets.
Known aligning devices comprise two continuous displaceable walls that confront each other horizontally or vertically and that in each case are moved in parallel or together toward the item stack and in this way the item stack is aligned relative to the transport substrate.
The alignment of flat structures in particular, such as stacks of paper sheets, proves to be problematical. For example, when paper is being cut to size, cross-cutters are used, as a result of which the paper stack may not be positioned centrally on the transport substrate but instead may project by up to 40 mm on the longitudinal side and/or the transverse side of the transport substrate. Since paper can be damaged very easily in the region of such a projecting portion during transport, alignment is required, in particular under all circumstances in the case of stacks of paper.
Previously known mechanical devices cannot be used since, during alignment with these devices, the lower edges are bent downward as a result of the force of the alignment device and can be clamped between the transport substrate and the aligning device. Apart from the fact that the bent-down sheets can no longer be used, the bent-down sheets also prevent further displacement, so that satisfactory alignment is not possible. Given a lack of technical solutions, the stacks of paper are therefore aligned by hand. Here, in the region of the projecting portion, the transport substrate is moved into the desired position by means of specific blows.